Whether it is lifting net neutrality regulations, allowing AI to reach its full potential to benefit mankind, educating policy makers about content moderation, clearing legacy regulations at the Federal Communications Commission, advocating for greater spectrum efficiency, or defending business practices that benefit consumers but are disliked by antitrust enforcers, CEI punches above its weight. Coalition activity, relationships with tech and telecom journalists, media appearances, policy events, Capitol Hill outreach, op-eds, and in-depth studies combine to make CEI influential in the tech and telecom policy area.
Tech and Telecom Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
Subsidy-free capitalism may require a constitutional amendment
Automobiles, electrification, ample consumer goods and mass marketing, a construction boom, and access to credit helped fuel the Roaring Twenties of a century ago.
Wall Street Journal
‘Net Neutrality’ Faces a Stiff Judicial Test
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday along partisan lines to reclassify broadband internet access service as a common carrier telecommunications service under Title II of…
The Wall Street Journal
‘Net Neutrality’ Faces a Stiff Judicial Test
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday along partisan lines to reclassify broadband internet access service as a common carrier telecommunications service under Title II of…
Search Posts
Study
Understanding an Internet Sales Tax
21st century taxation without representation? Attempts to expand states’ abilities to tax online sales across borders are wildly unpopular and fly in the face of fiscal conservative…
Homeland Security Today
Planning A Drone As A Holiday Gift? FAA Task Force Calls For UAS Registration
Homeland Security Today discusses the FAA drone registration mandate plans with Marc Scribner. According to Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) transportation policy expert Marc…
Politico
DHS chief suggests ‘legislative teeth’ for Visa Waiver tweaks
Politico highlights Marc Scribner's insights on the FAA drone registration mandates. The Competitive Enterprise Institute said it is “disturbed by the way in which…
News Release
Drone Task Force Report to FAA on Mandatory Drone
The drone registration task force has now issued its recommendations to the FAA concerning plans to require registration for commercial/civilian drones. But the FAA’s plan…
Blog
Net Neutrality Questions FCC Commissioners Need to Answer
In a House Energy & Commerce Committee oversight hearing on Tuesday, November 17, all five Federal Communications Commissioners will testify. Net neutrality, the FCC’s broad push…
Watchdog.org
Drones: FAA wants to be the DMV for flying toys
Blog
CFPB’s Database Should Be Bipartisan Privacy Concern
The behemoth Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) played a big role in Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate on Fox Business, both during the commercials and…
Blog
Passcode for Liberty: Why the Government Shouldn’t Restrict Encryption (Video)
Most Americans own a smartphone and use cloud computing services such as Gmail, Dropbox, and Facebook. Increasingly, we store sensitive data on our devices and…
St. Cloud Times
Register all drones? Fears surround DOT mandate plan
The St. Cloud Times discusses with Marc Scribner the problems behind FAA drone regulations. "Do we expect pilots to see tiny numbering on these…
RealClear Policy
Undermining Encryption
Ryan Radia discusses the problem with encryption restrictions in RealClear Policy: For most Americans, communicating over the Internet has become routine. We now…
Blog
As Senate Cybersecurity Vote Nears, CISA Remains Seriously Flawed
If Congress wants to lift barriers to beneficial information sharing without endangering individual privacy, it’s essential that legislation contains robust safeguards against unwanted uses of…
One News Now
Feds: Drones are a hazard to be regulated
One News Now interviews CEI's Marc Scribner on the federal government's plans to regulate drones. Foxx et al. have announced the formation of…
Watchdog Arena
Your drone papers, please: Feds preparing registry for unmanned flight
Watchdog Arena sites Marc Scribner's research on the problems with federal regulations on drones. As the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Marc Scribner points out…
Politico
Drone registration rule gets underway
Politico mentions Marc Scribner's research on the new drone proposal in daily news update on transportation. Pointing to an analysis by drone lawyer…
Watchdog.org
Fed, states preparting new regs for commercial, personal drone use
Watchdog.org discusses the Federal Aviation Administration's fear of drones and resulting regulations, and looks to Marc Scribner to understand the effects of such regulations.
The Heartlander
Regulators Slamming the Brakes on ‘Permissionless Innovation’
The Heartland Institute cites Marc Scribner's research on the regulatory landscape surrounding automated-vehicles. Marc Scribner, a research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says…
Daily Caller
Massive Potential Of Drones Could Be Undermined By Federal Regulators
The Daily Caller reviews Marc Scribner's paper on drone regulations. Regulators and legislators looking to curtail the use of civilian drones could be losing…
Politico
Dorgan’s lobbying checks align with newfound ATC stance
Politico details Marc Scribner's paper on drones as part of the daily transportation and infrastructure update. As lawmakers mull drone policy ahead of…
Politico
Dorgan’s lobbying checks align with newfound ATC stance
Politico details Marc Scribner's paper on drones as part of the daily transportation and infrastructure update. As lawmakers mull drone policy ahead of…
Blog
What Will a Chaffetz Speakership Mean for Internet Freedom? Part 2
Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz recently threw his hat in the ring in a bid to replace Speaker John Boehner, after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s…
Blog
What Will a Chaffetz Speakership Mean for Internet Freedom?
With House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) gaffe regarding the Benghazi investigation, the race to replace outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appears much more open. Days later,…
Blog
Court Upholds Legality of NSA’s Bulk Collection of Telephone Records
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down its much-awaited ruling in Obama v. Klayman, one of several lawsuits…
Blog
Did North Dakota Just Authorize Pepper-Spraying Police Drones?
The Daily Beast’s Justin Glawe has written an article about a North Dakota law aimed at limiting law enforcement use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or…
News Release
Amicus Brief: Congress Has Never Given FCC the Authority to Regulate the Internet
Congress has continued to deny the Federal Communications Commission authority to regulate the Internet, argues the Competitive Enterprise Institute in its amicus brief filed today in…
Legal Brief
Amicus Brief: United States Telecom Association v. FCC
Full Document Available in PDF A handful of telecom companies sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over its Open Internet Order, also…
Blog
Senate Prepares to Vote on Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA)
Today, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which is a serious threat to civil liberties and…
Products
Graham Hearing Could Touch On I-Poker Ban Bill
The Card Player cites CEI`s Michelle Minton on internet gambling regulation: While the hearing on July 8 isn’t centered on Internet gambling like…
The Heartlander
Online Poker Ban Gains Support in U.S. Senate
The Heartlander cites CEI`s Michellen Minton on the online poker ban: Hidden Agenda Competitive Enterprise Institute Fellow Michelle…
Blog
FCC Ignores Rule of Law in Attempt to Fine AT&T for Throttling Wireless Users
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on a three-to-two vote, found that AT&T violated federal regulations by failing to disclose that it was throttling certain wireless…
Simple Justice
The Public Accommodation Formerly Known As SJ
Simple Justice cites CEI`s Hans Bader on the Americans with Disabilities Act: Walter Olson, at Overlawyered, here and here, Amy Alkon…
The Hill
Latest Internet sales tax bill gives states unprecedented taxing power
This week’s introduction by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) of yet another Internet sales tax bill illustrates the importance of understanding this complex issue and the…
Washington Monthly
Why Is America Losing the Commercial Drone Wars?
The Washington Monthly quotes CEI`s Marc Scribner on FAA`s drone regulations. "The business press and tech websites are filled with stories slamming the…
Real Clear Policy
USA FREEDOM Act: A Win for Privacy
For years, unbeknownst to the American people, a top-secret government program overseen by the National Security Agency collected and stored "metadata" about nearly all U.S.
Fortune
The Verizon-AOL Deal Shows How Much AOL has Reinvented Itself
CEI's Wayne Crews is quoted in Fortune on Verizon's AOL buyout. “This is a positioning deal, to provide ad-serving to the mobile video…
News Release
CEI Responds to Ruling Striking Down NSA Phone Record Collection
CEI’s VP of Policy Wayne Crews, Jr. today responded to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against National Security Agency’s (NSA) collection of…
Letters
CEI Urges Senate to Reject Reauthorization of PATRIOT Act Without Reforms
In the two years since Americans learned of the NSA’s mass surveillance, they have grown increasingly skeptical about whether the government’s intrusive surveillance programs serve…
Blog
CEI Statements on the Failed Comcast-Time Warner Merger
CEI responded to the news that the Comcast-Time Warner merger failed. You can read more analysis from CEI's Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews here.
Investor's Business Daily
Comcast Surrenders To Government Bullies, Backs Out Of Merger
Investor's Business Daily cites Wayne Crews' work on the failed Comcast-Time Warner merger. Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute brings a…
Blog
Fix Cyber Information Sharing Bill, Free Market Groups Urge
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, TechFreedom and a coalition of free-market groups issued an open letter to Members of Congress, urging them to consider amendments…
Citation
Ryan Radia Talks to BBC Radio about Google Antitrust Charges
Listen to Ryan Radia’s full BBC interview here The European Commission brought antitrust charges against Google in a formal complaint on April 15,…
Blog
Marketplace Fairness Act Is More about Tax Revenue and Rent-Seeking than Fairness
Yesterday, Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) reintroduced the speciously named Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) in the…
Comment
CEI, ICLE, TechFreedom File Comments with FCC in MVPD Definition Proceeding
Full Document Available in PDF In this proceeding, the Commission proposes to expand the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD)…
MSNBC
Why the FCC’s Vote to Regulate the Internet Is a Mistake
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to regulate Internet providers as public utilities under a 1934 law. President Obama celebrated…
Blog
Net Neutrality Vote Shows Congress Must Rein In and Replace the FCC
The separation of powers doctrine demands that Congress not tolerate unelected federal agencies going it alone and making binding law. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC),…
Reason
Don’t Extend the Dead Hand of the FCC to the Internet
On February 26, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a proposal to regulate companies that provide Internet access as public utilities. Spearheaded…
Vox
Is Network Neutrality Becoming a Partisan Issue?
Vox cites CEI's Ryan Radia on the Net Neutrality debate: Ryan Radia, a telecom policy expert at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Blog
Premature Capitulation?
Over the decades I’ve spent in this Heart of Darkness (a.k.a., the bowels of American politics), I’ve learned two lessons that have encouraged the steady…
The Roanoke Times
A New Idea for Tax Fairness Online
The misleadingly named Marketplace Fairness Act died a quiet death during the House of Representatives’ lame-duck session, but is it really the end? What does…
The Blaze
Cybersecurity Concerns Spotlight Obama’s State of the Union Cyber Agenda
The Blaze cites CEI's Ryan Radia on cybersecurity: “Even as the federal government is forcing telephone companies to hand over phone call…
Blog
On Cybersecurity, President Obama Offers Mixed Bag in SOTU
Technology policy rarely earns more than a brief mention in the President’s annual State of the Union address to Congress. But tonight, when President Obama…
Blog
Free to Prosper: Top Priorities for the 114th Congress
With the start of the 114th Congress comes a fresh opportunity to address the challenges created by a broken government. To kick off this new congressional…
Blog
Automated Vehicles Update: Big Feature at CES, California Rules Delayed, Georgia Cautious on Regulation
It’s been a few months since I last checked in on automated vehicles (AVs), commonly called driverless cars or autonomous vehicles. Below are some developments of…
Blog
Besting a Billionaire: How a Grassroots Campaign Stopped a Ban on Internet Gambling
This week we get to say goodbye to the 113th Congress. For those who believe in free markets and individual liberty, it was a doozy.
Study
Top 5 Things Congress Should Consider During Lame-Duck Session
View the document here During Congress’ lame-duck session, both Republicans and Democrats will dig into a number of stalled pieces of legislation…
One News Now
Two Views on Danger of ‘Net Neutrality’
One News Now talks to Ryan Radia about free-market reasons to oppose Net Neutrality: If this is a free speech issue, says the Competitive…
Study
From Overstock to Overtaxed
With Congress poised to consider similar taxes in the Marketplace Fairness Act…
News Release
New Report: The Economic and Legal Problems with Internet Sales Taxes
WASHINGTON – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new study analyzing the economic downsides and legal problems with…
Vox
The GOP’s Senate Takeover Could Be a Big Deal for Net Neutrality and Patent Reform
CEI's Ryan Radia discusses net neutrality, patent reform and online privacy with Vox Media: Net Neutrality: "Still, Ryan Radia of the Competitive…
Comment
Comments to NHTSA Regarding Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the…
PC World
Groups Accuse FCC of Helping Net Neutrality Advocates File Comments
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission engaged in the worst kind of “partisan politics” by working closely with net neutrality advocates to ensure their comments were…
Letters
CEI, National and State Coalitions Support Internet Tax Moratorium
Full Document Avalible in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with dozens of State and National organizations are asking the Senate to…
Comment
Comcast-TWC Merger Comments to FCC
View Full Comments Here In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urged the FCC to unconditionally…
Investor's Business Daily
Big Government Can’t Keep Up In Digital Era
Article by Michael Barone Earlier this week, I was thinking of writing a column about the lying and duplicity of ObamaCare backers who argued that…
Austin American Statesman
Texans Should Beware of Internet Sales Tax
Texas is one of the nation’s best states for doing business, according to a recent CNBC survey. Lone Star lawmakers deserve credit for the pro-growth…
Blog
New Report Highlights Driverless Car Urban Impact; Takes Techno-Dystopian Stance
Earlier this month, Professor David Begg of Transport Times published a new report on automated transport technology focusing on the potential impacts on London. This is one of…
Blog
Bitcoin’s Undiscovered Potential
A recent piece in American Banker magazine explores how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can help the underprivileged, particularly the millions of unbanked people who…
The Skeptical Libertarian
Reasons Libertarians Should Be Skeptical of Uber Politics
Libertarians, we may have an Uber problem. Don’t get me wrong, friends of freedom. I love Uber. I use Uber at least once a week.
Forbes
Techno-Libertarianism: Building The Case For Separation Of Technology And State
Can we keep government’s hands off the technology frontier? I like to think it makes sense that libertarianism—or classical liberal ideas–would resonate in places like…
1776
Commercial Drones Face Sky-High Regulatory Barriers
The widespread adoption of commercial unmanned aircraft systems—commonly called “drones”—should be right around the corner. But overcautious, burdensome regulation threatens to hold it back. To…
Human Events
Expert’s Take: TV Broadcast Rights
The Supreme Court this week ruled against a television broadcast company whose business model was infringing on copyright law. Ryan Radia, associate director of technology…
Blog
Why the Supreme Court’s Aereo Decision Protects Creators without Endangering the Cloud
This post was coauthored by Geoffrey Manne and Ben Sperry of the International Center for Law and Economics. It originally appeared at Truth on…
WBUR Boston
Supreme Court Aereo Decision Also A Blow To Boston’s Tech Sector
The media company Hearst Corporation, which owns WCVB-TV in Boston, says it is pleased with the ruling for protecting its right to be compensated. The…
News Release
Aereo Decision Protects Creators and Distributors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Annie Dwyer; 202-331-2765 WASHINGTON, June 25 – This morning, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the online-streaming company…
Blog
Distracted by Paranoia, Obama Administration to Regulate Map Apps?
A story in The New York Times is making the rounds about an Obama administration proposal to clarify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) authority to…
Blog
Ridesharing Wars: Uber, Regulators, and the “California Compromise”
Yesterday, as many in the D.C. metro area are aware, Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles sent cease-and-desist letters to Uber (PDF) and Lyft…
Forbes
There’s A Way To Pay Off America’s Budget Deficits That Is Easy, And Wholly Painless
Whatever your views on the role of government, one thing is clear: There will be no way to pay for it if the economy doesn’t…
Blog
House Intel Committee Chair Ignores Report Calling NSA Surveillance Illegal
At a recent event titled “A Statesman Forum on Cybersecurity Policy and Diplomacy” at George Washington University, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)…
The Oklahoman
Think Tank Fellow: Taxing At Place Of Origin Is The Best Method
Starved for cash, cities in Oklahoma and across the nation are looking to new sources of revenue. Their latest target? The Internet. Municipal officials are…
Blog
How Policy Makers Should Approach Google’s Driverless Shuttles
Yesterday, Chris Urmson, director of Google’s Self-Driving Car Project, wrote a post for the company blog describing Google’s newest prototype: fully automated vehicles that…
The Oklahoman
Distracted Drivers Or Driverless Cars?
The treatment of self-driving vehicles by policymakers represents one of the major barriers to their emergence, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Only New…
Blog
Senate Leaders Kill Patent Reform, Once again Thwarting Democracy to Protect Special Interests
Hundreds of moderate and conservative bills have passed the House of Representatives, often overwhelmingly, only to die in the Senate without even being voted…
National Review
Quick Hits
Hans Bader writes about how Harry Reid killed a bipartisan patent-reform bill, and simultaneously undermined one of President Obama’s favorite talking points.
Blog
No, Gov. Perry, a Ban on Internet Gambling Won’t Protect the Internet or Individual Freedom
In an attempt to save face, Texas Governor Rick Perry is trying to justify his support for a federal online gambling ban by claiming that it’s the…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 20, 2014: Phones on a Plane
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner supports the FCC's attempt to lift a ban on in-flight cell phone use.
Blog
Consumers Will Win in Combined AT&T-DirecTV
AT&T agreed Sunday to purchase DirecTV for $67 billion in cash, stock, and acquired debt. If federal regulators approve the deal, the combined firm…
Forbes
Questions For Advocates Of Net Neutrality Regulation
Flawed premises notwithstanding, the Federal Communications Commission’s self interested campaign to inflict net neutrality rules on the private communications infrastructure continues with a new rulemaking…
Blog
The Premises of Net Neutrality
In the electric power industry, if you run an extension cord across the street to serve another, you go to jail. The local utility has…
Blog
No, the FCC Did Not Allow “Fast Lanes” on the Internet, Yet
This week, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) held an Open Meeting to propose new rules regarding regulation of Internet service providers (ISPs), such as Verizon and…
The Real News
TRNN Debate: Should The Internet Be Regulated Like A Utility?
ANTON WORONCZUK, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Anton Woronczuk in Baltimore. The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, has just voted three…
Mapping the Internet
Parallel Internets, Another Internet Treaty Or Both? The Next Pieces Of The Internet Governance Jigsaw Puzzle – Part 2
For a long time before Brazil, Angela Merkel and others had awoken to the possibility of networks separate though connected to the currently US-dominated…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 14, 2014: Federal Ban on Online Gambling?
CEI Fellow Michelle Minton discusses why a federal ban on online gambling would be counterproductive.
Blog
Google’s Self-Driving Cars Approach 700,000 Miles of Crash-Free Driving
In a report released last week for CEI, I noted that developers need to be able to demonstrate automated vehicle safety benefits in order…
Blog
FCC’s Internet Fast Lanes Should Outrun Net Neutrality Bias
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will issue proposed rules May 15, rules expected expected to allow premium pricing for Internet fast lanes alongside the lane…
Study
Self-Driving Regulation
Leonardo da Vinci first sketched the design for a self-propelled cart in the late 15th century. In 2010, Google announced its fleet of self-driving cars…
Blog
Taxable Bitcoins 2: We’re Not Gonna Pay it!
Reason magazine’s Brian Doherty recently addressed the IRS’s recent announcement that bitcoin transactions are taxable. As I addressed in my last piece, while the…
Blog
Taxable Bitcoins: Property or Money?
Is Bitcoin currency or property? It depends on which parts of the federal government you ask. Last week the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that bitcoins…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: 3D Printing Cups, Cars, Houses, and Faces
3D printing is a relatively recent technological development that has already begun to revolutionize model-building, structural and other medical procedures, and construction of items from…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Autonomous Vehicles, from Imagination to Reality
[caption id="attachment_55209" align="alignright" width="300"] CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman about to take a spin in a Google self-driving car in May 2012. (Photo by Marc…
Blog
MtGox is Dead, Long Live MtGox!
MtGox, once a pillar of the Bitcoin exchange market, filed for bankruptcy on March 10. In February, the website had ceased withdrawals before ceasing…
Legal Brief
Amicus Brief – American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, Inc.
Full document available in PDF CEI and ICLE filed a joint amicus brief in the Aereo case, which the Supreme Court…
Staff & Scholars
Jessica Melugin
Director of the Center for Technology & Innovation
- Antitrust
- Innovation
- Media, Speech and Internet Freedoms
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government